Staff Sergeant Felix Padilla joined the West Point Band in 2019. Raised in both Long Island, New York, and Orlando, Florida, he earned a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with James Markey. He earned a Bachelor of Music studying with Dr. Bradley Palmer at Columbus State University. Other teachers include Toby Oft, Steve Lange, Norman Bolter, Mike Roylance, and Joseph Vascik. Staff Sgt. Padilla has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, and New Haven Symphony Orchestra. He was the winner of the 2018 Southeast Trombone Symposium’s S.E. Shires Solo Competition and was the runner-up of the Orchestral Excerpts Competition. He has also been a finalist in both the International Trombone Association’s Edward Kleinhammer Competition and the American Trombone Workshop’s Bass Trombone Division II Competition. Staff Sgt. Padilla can be heard on Columbus State University Trombone Ensemble’s album “Full Tilt” – on which he was the soloist on Brad Edwards’ "Memories of the Spirit” – as well as on James Markey’s album “Psychedelia.”
